Concealed Carry

The SW1911 operates with two functional variations on traditional 1911 design. The first variation is an externally mounted extractor. John Browning himself saw the extractor as the one weak point in the 1911 system and developed the external design to enhance reliability and maintenance.

What about carrying your pistol so that no one can see it? After all, it is a concealed handgun license. Texas does not have a statute which allows the open carry of a handgun and for a CHL holder, it is an offense to carry a handgun in a manner where it is not concealed. Failing to conceal is a crime set forth in Texas Penal Code 46.035, writes attorney Michael D. Wisdom, president of the Texas Law Shield, a firearms legal defense retainer program developed by Houston-based Walker, Rice & Wisdom, P.C., Attorneys at Law. The key to this crime is that a CHL holder must INTENTIONALLY fail to conceal their handgun.

We tested two 40 S&W handguns in the May 2013 issue. Here's an excerpt of that report, "Two Midsize 40 S&W Pistols: Taurus and Glock Square Off,".

The .380 cartridge has been around since early in the last century. It was another of John Browning’s designs, and has been known as the 9mm Kurz, 9x17, 9mm Browning Short, and .380 ACP. We also know it as the .380 Automatic, or simply the .380 Auto. It’s been chambered in a host of small autoloading pistols, some of them quite famous, such as Walther’s PPK.

The .380 is not a cartridge many of us would pick for all-around use. It’s hardly a plinking cartridge, because of the relatively high cost of ammunition, and because the pistols that chamber it are generally not all that accurate. Reloaders don’t exactly flock to the diminutive cartridge, for a variety of reasons. Ammunition manufacturers have produced some excellent fodder in recent years for the tiny guns, but none of it can make a mountain-size “stopper” out of the molehill .380 Auto.

Here are new videos added to GunReports.com this week: Two bullets too many; Jerry Miculek takes a close look at the Tavor bullpup rifle; and a Brownells' gunsmith goes through, step-by-step, how to properly disassemble a Beretta 92.

This Gun Test-evaluated pistol is chambered for shooter-friendly 9mm ammunition. It offers single-action fire and a thumb-operated safety to simplify operation. Matching short slides to the proper-strength recoil spring can be challenging. The tested Springfield Armory EMP (Enhanced Micro Pistol), $1253, sprang from the Browning 1911 design.Matching short slides to the proper-strength recoil spring can be challenging. All four of our test guns utilized a two-spring plunger-style guide-rod system that seems to be the answer to providing the proper balance of compression and rebound. Despite this operational similarity all four pistols offered their own unique features. Our test pistol, the Springfield Armory EMP (Enhanced Micro Pistol), $1253, sprang from the Browning 1911 design.

We tested two 380 ACP handguns in the April 2013 issue. Here's an excerpt of that report.

If you have a handgun for what some consider to be a sub-caliber round, it might be comforting to have lots of shots on hand, because you just might need them. Taking our tongues out of our cheeks now, the 380 can be an effective self-defense handgun cartridge, particularly with today's hotter JHP loads — if you can find any. There are zillions of good used 380s out there, though in today's market you might have the devil of a time finding one. We managed to acquire two, both slightly used, just like what you might have to consider in today's super-tight gun market. Our test pistols were a Beretta Model 84 ($600-$650) and a CZ Model 83 ($550 on up).

As a service to our readers, these are links to the products listed in the August 2013 Gun Tests article, “Inside The Waistband Holsters: Kydex, Leather and Hybrid Styles.” Due out around July 25, 2013.

The Pro Carry version of the XD pistol is a Springfield Armory Custom Shop pistol with a specified set of modifications. The Pro Carry package is the most basic of three available levels, providing a 4.5- to 5-pound trigger job, optional sights, the application of a national match barrel, a slick Armory Kote of all internal metal parts, and extension of the magazine release to one side as specified by the customer.

Every gunsmith has secrets he would never share with a competitor. Here are a few you can claim as your own (but don’t tell anyone else).

You have your gun to protect yourself, your loved ones and your property from murderers, rapists, car jackers, and home invaders. You may believe that the chances of anyone having any real legal issues regarding the killing of an animal in self-defense were remote. You would be wrong.

We recently tested compact 40 S&W handguns in the March 2013 issue. Here's an excerpt of that report.

For this test we looked at a S&W M&P Compact 40 ($569) and a Kahr CW40 ($485). They are a bit larger than the tiny nines we've been trying, and there are good reasons for that. The 40 S&W is a lot more cartridge than the 9mm Parabellum, and when forties get smaller than these two test guns, recoil is entirely unfriendly.